The wearability of timepieces is dictated by fashion, usage, and personal style. For instance, the wearable timepiece began as a pendant hanging from a chain around the clock-holder's neck, but has since evolved into the wristwatch. Various conversion kits have been designed to accommodate those who, whether as a matter of style or of necessity, did not want to wear a watch. For instance, Perry U.S. Pat. No. 2,035,979 describes a wrist watch adapter using pintle bars that connect to the watch, while the adapter described by Mix U.S. Pat. No. 2,075,451 uses a strap that attaches to the back of the watch. Often these conversions offer only limited transformations, and do not necessarily fit the style of the watch or the wearer. The challenges of conversion may be likened to those of industrial design and architecture, in which aesthetics and functionality are intertwined.
Apple, Inc., famous for being at the forefront of the intersection between technology and style, now offers an APPLE WATCH® to be worn on the wrist. In fact, electronic devices to be worn on the wrist, and offering functionalities beyond that of a timepiece, have been known for some time. Like watches and other timepieces, they are costly objects of fine engineering, but wearable electronic devices have a few unique features that may inform the development of conversion kits or alternate forms of wearability. Electronic devices are often square or rectangular, and often have a means for user input, such as microphones, buttons, or touchscreens. These features suggest different types of wearability for electronic devices than for watches, and indeed wearability has not yet been fully explored.